If you are a graduate applying for a job role, you may not have had much experience interviewing. This blog-post will help get you thinking about what you may need to prepare to enhance your chances of success.​What is your specialism?PR is multi-faceted. It is important to know what type of PR that you want to work in, whether it is events, cooperate, crisis management or even media relations.

Even though it may sound like the obvious, as a new graduate eager to climb the career ladder it is really important to do the correct homework and research the company. Look at their clients, campaigns and their shared company vision/ethos. For instance, The Relations Group share the vision to be ‘Pre-eminent, award-winning and most-trusted’, but each company has a different goal – it is important to decipher that.

Come armed with questions you want to ask, this will help you make an executive decision. If you were to apply for a position at The Relations Group you may want to consider:

How does broadcast PR differ from traditional PR

What sectors the company works with

What the culture is like

What the progression path is

What are the targets and KPIs

COMMUNICATIONCommunication is key within any role, but personality is what sells in PR. Whether on a telephone interview or face-to-face the candidate should be focused on bringing their CV to life! A candidate must have phone-confidence to succeed; this may involve reaching out to brand managers, news desks or presenters, but whoever the contact is – they are only ever as enthusiastic as the person on the other end of the line.

ENTHUSIASMPeople buy into people, the content of course is important, but it can be made to sound even more significant with the right tone and excitement. Building relationships is the foundation of any role as rapport building creates a level of trust. A phone interview is therefore an opportunity to showcase your ability to build rapport and influence the interviewer (as you would do in PR) – if you can’t hold a phone call with confidence and charisma; it may not be the right career move you.

CREATIVITYKeep in mind that a recruiter is inundated with CVs and cover letters. Just because a job advert asks for a cover letter, doesn’t mean you have to play by the rules - the best are always applications that stand out! Why not make a video or an audio-piece? Remember you are campaigning for YOU to get this position and therefore, it’s all about influence and creativity - as any media-fanatic would know.